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A. W. CHASE.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1912.

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' Patented Dec. 9,1919.

6 SHEETSSHEET I.

A. W. CHASE.-

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR MOTORS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13 191i.

1,324,384. Patented Dec. 9,1919.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 3 wvemtoz W W W A. W. CHASE.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR MOTORS. APPLICATION FILED JAN-13.19II.

1 324 384 Patented Dec. 9,1919,

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3- A. W. CHASE. 4

nmvms MECHANISM FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION HLED. IAN.1,3, I917; 1,324g384t0 .6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

3 nveulfoz Patented Dec. g, 1919.

A. W. CHASE.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13. 1912..

1,824,889., Patented Dec. 9,1919.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

A. W. CHASE.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, I917.

1 $243840 Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

line UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT W. CHASE, OF CATSKILL, NEW YORK. I

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR MOTORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 13, 1917. Serial No. 142,165.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT W. CHASE, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Catskill, county of Greene, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drivin Mechanism for Motors, of the which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to driving mechanism for motors, and is especially applicable to driving mechanism employing a plurality of worms for driving at different speeds.

Its object is to improve and simplify the connections between the driving shaft or motor and a plurality of worms for driving the differential, for example, of a motor; to perfect means for bringing the clutch member of the driving shaft more readily into alinement with any one of the driving worms, to perfect such alinement; and to render easier and more certain in operation the connecting of the clutch members of the various parts together and generally to make such parts easier to manipulate.

It consists of the novel devices and combinations herein shown and described. In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming part hereof, I have shown my improvement in its preferred form, as applied to driving the diiferential of a motor.

Referring now to this preferred form and t0 the drawings illustrating it,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the chassis of a motor embodying my invention, some parts being partly broken away and others in section;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal view, in section, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line '4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 6, certain parts being re moved and other parts broken away, for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 6 is an elevation, in section, partly broken away, taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fi 7 is a detailed section taken on the 7-4 of Fi 6; Fig. 8 is a fimgitudinal vertical section, partly broken away, and substantially taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a detailed vertical section taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a top view of the gear shift plate, showing controlling lever in neutral position;

Fig. 11 is a detailed section taken on the line 1l-11 of Fig. 8.

My invention is shown in connection with the difi'erential of a motor driven at different speeds by worms and worm gears. Three worms, 1, 1, are shown, with their accompanying worm wheels 2, 2, giving two speeds forward and one in reverse. Each worm wheel 2 is connected to and drives a differential, of which 3 is the gear case. The differential is provided with the usual parts, and will, therefore, not be further described, the differential driving in the usual way, divided rear axle 4 carrying the rear wheels of the motor. The main driving shaft 5 of themotor is provided with a clutch member 6, adapted to engage any one of the clutch members 7, 7, of the diflerent worms when the clutch member 6 is brou ht into alinement with such clutch member and is forced into connection with it. The means for forcing clutch member 6 into engagement with the clutch member 7 when in alinement with it consists of a lever 8, fast on a rock Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

ordinarily employed as a pedal. In the usual way, the rocking of this lever throws shaft 5 backward or forward, causing clutch 6 to be thrown into or out of engagement with one of the clutches 7. 13, 13, are antifriction rollers, mounted in the dependent arms 10,10.

Shaft 5 is connected at one end to the source of power, in the usual way, by a universal joint 14, and the other end of the shaft is connected by universal joint 15 with clutch 6. Shaft 5 is free to move in the plane of the worms 2, 2, so as to bring clutch 6 opposite any one of the clutches 7. As shown, this movement is a horizontal one. This movement is controlled through controlling hand lever 16, mounted in the usual way in an H-box17. It is loosely mounted, by pin connection with rock shaft 18,-the connection being such that lever 16 may have a slight lateral movement, to accommodate itself to the difi'erent spaces in the H-box.

along these guideways.

Fast on rock shaft 18 is a dependent arm 19, to the lower end of which is pivoted the link 20. This link, at its further end, is fastened to a rock shaft 21. This rock shaft has pivoted to it at each end an arm 22. Each arm 22 is fast to a pin 23, mounted loosely in the framework, and at the inner end of each pin 23 is fastened an arm 24. The rear ends of the arms 24, 24, move freely on pins 25, 25, fast in reciprocating bearing box 26, which carries the clutch member 6.

Bearing box 26 is mounted on guideways 27, 27, and is free to move horizontally Forming part of the guideways is a fin 28, provided with a cutaway portion 29 opposite each clutch 7, having a curved surface corresponding to the curvature of clutch 6. Three of these cutaway portions 29, 29, are shown, each one corresponding to a clutch 7 and being in perfect alinement with it.

Bearing box 26 is free to movehorizontally along its guideways and the fin 28, and whenever it is in perfect alinement with a clutch 7, the clutch 6 can be forced forward, in the manner already described, to engage with the corresponding clutch 7. At all other points in the lateral movement of bearing box 26, no such forward movement of clutch 6 can take place, as some portion of clutch 6 will strike the fin 28.

Thus, perfect alinement is always secured between clutch 6 and clutch 7 before engagement between them can be made. It will also be noted that bearing box 26 is always. held in the same relative position to the clutches 7, the face of the box and the face of its accompanying clutch 6 being always exactly parallel to the faces of the clutches 7.

30 is a ball bearing between the non-revoluble parts of box 26 and the rotating clutch 6.

In order to insure ease of manipulation and more perfect alinement, I provide each clutch 7 with a cone-shaped projection 31 and clutch 6 with a cone-shaped depression 32.

It will be understood from the above that the bearing box 26 and clutch 6 are free to move laterally along their guides, so as to bring clutch 6 into alinement with any clutch 7. When in such alinement, clutch 6 can be forced forward by means of lever 8 acting upon shaft 5 to cause clutch 6 to engage with the opposite clutch 7 and thus drive the corresponding worm wheel and differential. The curved cutaway portions 29 of fin 28 permit such movement of clutch 6, and these surfaces, cooperating with the curved surfaces of clutch 6 and the taper or cone surfaces 31 and 32, permit such movement when perfect alinement is obtained and insure easy and eflicient operation.

hea gear.

In order to reduce the extent of the lateral or horizontal movement of the clutch and its bearing box, I preferably mount the worms with their ball hearings in a staggered arrangement, such as is shown in Fig. 3. The ball bearings 33 of the middle worm, as there shown, are in substantially the same alinement as the inner part of the ball bearings 34, 34, of the two outer worms. The ball bearings of one of the worms thus overlaps a portion of the ball bearings of the outer worms. This makes the worms much more compact in space, and materially reduces the extent to which the driving axle has to be swung at its free end.

In order to support and strengthen the driving shaft 5, I preferably provide an intermediate bearing capable of a slight movement in the plane of the shifting of the driving shaft needed to bring clutch 6 into engagement with the different clutches 7. In the drawings, this consists of a ball bearing 35 having a slight lateral play to accommodate this lateral movement of the shaft. It consists of a ball bearing mounted in a laterally sliding piece 36, sliding in guides in a support 37 carried by yoke 38. Yoke 38 has two arms 39, 39, loosely mounted on arms 40, 40, secured to the chassis, so that the yoke will be free to tilt or rotate on its central axis slightly as one side or the other of the chassis is raised.

Shaft 5 has a square portion 41, fitting into a square socket 42, to permit the backward and forward motion of the shaft in coupling or uncoupling the clutches with one another.

My improvement furnishes a strong, accurate and reliable means for connecting the clutch of the driving shaft of a motor with the clutches of a plurality of worms. It enables the operator to easily and accurately shift from worm to worm to change the speed or reverse the motor. It secures perfect alinement between the clutches, preventing any attempt at their connection unless the parts are properly alined, thus reducing the wear on the clutches and driving parts and the liability of breakage. It enables the practical use of a plurality of worms and worm wheel drives in a motor for securin'gdilferent speeds, with all the consequent advantages of lighter weight, less noisy operation, reduction of strain, ease of manipulation, with increased efficiency of drives, dispensing with the multiplicity of gears now usual in motor drives.

gage with the clutch of that worm, and this notwithstandingthe swinging of the driving shaft.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In the driving mechanism of a motor vehicle having a differential, the combination of a plurality of worms arranged side by side and each adapted to drive the differential of the motor at a different speed, a driving shaft pivotallymounted and having a free end adapted to swing inthe plane of the Worms, a clutch member connected to the free end of the shaft and adapted to rotate therewith, a clutch bearing box for supporting the clutch member adapted to move across the ends of the worms at right angles-to their axes, means for forcing the clutch member into engagement with any worm, and an alining fin between parts of the clutch member and the ends of the worms provided with an opening opposite the end of each worm in exact alinement therewith, the said openings having the same contour as the contour ofthe said parts of the clutch, whereby the clutch member cannot be forced into engagement with the Worm until in exact alinement therewith.

2. In the driving mechanism of a motor vehicle having a differential, the combination of a plurality of worms arranged side by side and each adapted to drive the differential of the motor at a different speed,-

a driving shaft pivotally mounted and having a free end adapted to swing in the plane of the worms, a clutch member on the free end of the shaft, connected with the shaftso as to rotate therewith, a clutch member member and each worm clutch member having respectively a cone-shaped projection on adapted to cooperate to aline the two clutches when brought together.

.3. In the driving mechanism of a motor vehicle having a differential the combination of three or more worms arranged side by side parallel with one another and each adapted to drive the differential of the motor at a different speed, ball bearings for each of the worms, the ball bearings of one or more of the worms being superimposed upona portion of the ball bearings of one or more of the other worms, a driving shaft pivotally mounted and having a free end adapted to swing in the plane of the worms, and a clutch member on the free end of the shaft adapted to be rotated thereby and also adapted to be brought into operative engage ment with any of the worms.

4. In the driving mechanism of a motor Vehicle having a difi'erential,-the combina tion of a plurality of worms arranged side by side and each adapted to drive the differential of the motor at a different speed, a driving shaft pivotally mounted and having a free end adapted to swing in the plane of the worms, a clutch member connected to the free end of the shaft and adapted to rotate therewith, means for forcing the clutch member into engagement with any worm, and an alining fin between parts of the clutch member and the ends of the worms provided with an opening opposite the end of each worm in exact alinement therewith; the said openings having the same contour as the contour of the said parts of the clutch, whereby the clutch member cannotbe forced into engagement with the worm until in exact alinement therewith.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ALBERT W. CHASE. 

